Naturals’ relief staff shuts down Travelers
Posted on Wednesday, July 16, 2008
SPRINGDALE - No starter ? No problem.
Northwest Arkansas'bullpen by committee approach worked just fine Monday as the Naturals defeated Arkansas, 2-1 before 4, 365 at Arvest Ballpark.
Chris Nicoll, Gilbert de la Vara and Chris Hayes held Arkansas to a combined seven hits and retired 20 consecutive batters during one stretch.
Juan Richardson had three hits for the Naturals, including a sixth-inning home run that broke a 1-1 tie.
The home run was the second in two days for Richardson, who hit a grand slam in Sunday's 6-5 victory at Springfield.
The victory for the Naturals (13-10 ) was their eighth in the past nine games. Cody Fuller hit a home run for Arkansas (7-16 ), which has lost 14 of its past 19 games since a major overhaul of its roster.
"I was hoping to get four innings out of Chris Nicoll, then de la Vara came in and did way more than expected," Northwest Arkansas manager Brian Poldberg said.
"(Arkansas ) had five left-handers in the lineup, and for me, de la Vara was the perfect guy to go to. He did exactly what we wanted. "
Northwest Arkansas had to rely on its bullpen pitchers Monday after starter Julio Pimentel played in the All-Stars Futures Game at New York over the weekend.
Nicoll allowed five hits and one run in four innings before de la Vara took over and threw four hitless innings. Hayes gave up singles in the ninth to Adam Morrissey and Brian Stavisky before he struck out Corey Smith to end the game.
The performance by de la Vara was surprising considering he entered the game 0-0 with an 8. 10 ERA in six games. He walked the only batter he faced at Springfield on Sunday before being removed.
"I just tried to stay consistent and throw strikes," said de la Vara, a left-handed pitcher who lowered his ERA to 5. 08.
"I was able to get left-handers off balance with the curve ball and right-handers with the change-up."
Northwest Arkansas'pitching overshadowed a good showing by Arkansas starter Amalio Diaz, who went 6 2 / 3 innings in his first appearance since moving up from Class A Rancho Cucamonga. Diaz allowed two runs and eight hits with two walks and three strikeouts.
Nicoll allowed one run on a home run by Fuller to lead off the third inning.
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